Bryce Reed, 31, is in federal custody. There are two different interpretations of the arrest being presented: Fox 4 reports that he’s been arrested “in connection to the investigation of the explosion in West, Texas, that killed 15 people.” They say the source of that information is unnamed agents with the federal Alcohol Tobacco and Firearms bureau. But The Dallas Morning News reports that officials haven’t yet said whether Reed’s arrest was related to the explosion. Under state and federal law, a “destructive device” can mean almost anything: a grenade, a bomb, a missile, poison gas or certain types of firearms.

Reed was interviewed frequently in the aftermath of the April 17 explosion at the West fertilizer plant. He told the L.A. Times a heartbreaking story about heading to a close friend’s house to tell them that their son Cyrus Reed, a fellow EMT (and evidently no relation), had died in the explosion. A slideshow at USA Todayappears to show Reed weeping at his friend’s funeral. In an interview with ABC affiliate KRGV TV, Reed said, “This is a community that makes sure we take care of our own.”

Reed was arrested at 2 this morning, and was arraigned a few hours later.

Generally speaking, it’s common in arson cases for the perpetrator to loiter around the fires they set, either to watch or even to participate in rescues. It’s also not unusual for them to turn up in media interviews telling what they saw. Whether that turns out to be the case in West is not yet known.

WFAA reports that Reed was a volunteer EMS worker and was placed on leave right after the blast. WFAA also reports that he “was in possession of possible bomb making materials” when he was arrested.

In a statement released this morning, DPS Director Steven McCraw says, “This disaster has severely impacted the community of West, and we want to ensure that no stone goes unturned and that all the facts related to this incident are uncovered.”

Bryan Preston has been a leading conservative blogger and opinionator since founding his first blog in 2001. Bryan is a military veteran, worked for NASA, was a founding blogger and producer at Hot Air, was producer of the Laura Ingraham Show and, most recently before joining PJM, was Communications Director of the Republican Party of Texas.

I agree that we should withhold judgment until all the facts are in. But, that having been said, if guilt can be proven to a jury, beyond a shadow of a doubt, we can take comfort in the fact that Texas in a death penalty state.

But can we say they are looking at the explosion as a crime? I heard that the Texas Rangers are being asked to be involved with the FBI on the case. So maybe this guy was just caught with something that had nothing to do with the explosion yet what he had was illegal. But this seems to mean they are looking for a suspect.

One caveat, there are high school kids who've been charged with having a destructive device when they mixed chemicals wrong in school so the "destructive device" designation covers a lot of ground. He could have simply had an illegal firework in his possession. We can't tell much from that charge.